Lubricating oil and the manufacture thereof



Patented ept. 11, 1923.

'UNITED STATES JAMES EDWARD SOUTHCOMBE, OF BIRKENHEAD, AND HENRY LONDON,ENGLAND.

PATENT orrica.

MATTHEW WELLS, OF

LUBRICATING OIL AND THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF.

Ho Drawing.

Application filed May as, 1921. Serial No. 473,308.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1921, 41 STAT. I,1313.)

To all whomitmay concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES EDWARD SOUTHCOMBE and HENRY Ma'r'rmgw WELLS,subjects of the King of Great Britain, residin at Birkenhead, in thecounty of Chester, lngland, and London, England, respectively, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating toLubricating Oils and the Manufacture There'- of (for which we have filedthe following application in England, Feb. 27, 1920, No. 5913), ofwhich-the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lubricating oils and to methods ofmanufacturing and refining the same.

In our United States Patent N 0. 1,319,129 we describe the manufactureof lubricating oils containing small quantities of substances whichlower the surface tension of said oil against Water, and in particulardescribe lubricating oils containing minute quantities of free organicacid.

According to the present invention we conduct the refining of crudehydrocarbon oil in such mannerthat undesirable impurities are eliminatedbut that predetermined or adequate quantities of free organic acidseither natural or formed during the usual refining processes, aredeliberately retained in the oil; Such selectively refined oils are thenhighly satisfactory lubricants owing to their content of free organicacid in limited amount, although such products may subsequently beblended with other oils, either containing free acid or not, in order toincrease or decrease their free acidity.

The final content of freeacid in the finished lubricating oil should beless than two per cent.

The invention is primarily concerned with the refining of oils which areusually treated by sulphuric acid followed by washing with caustic soda,or to similar processes,

e. g. processes of treatment with liquid sulphur dioxide or processes inwhich the material is subsequently distilled or otherwise treated withalkaline materials such as lime.

For example, Texas crude oil contains large quantities of sulphur orimpurities containing sulphur, or asphaltic im urities and of organicacids or the like. e may interpolate that in this specification we usethe term acid to include the'allied bodies naturally occurring in theoil or formed therefrom during the refining process such as phenolicbodies. In a preferred form of our invention we treat the crude oil withsulphuric acld or the like in order to eliminate the asphalticimpurities and we remove in known manner the sulphur impurities whensuch are present, but instead of treating with alkal ne material so asto remove the whole or practically the whole of the organic acidspresent, or the organic acids (sulphonic acid in particular) formed bythe action of the sulphuric acid or other chemical refining agent, wewash the chemically refined oil with water to such an extent as toremove the free mineral acid, whereupon a lubricating oil 1SOl)l73.l110(l which contains no free mineral acid, but contains limitedquantities of free organlc acid which improves the lubricating power.

Example.

moved. The washing is then discontinued at a stage when the oil stillcontains a material quantity of free organic acid, and this amount maybe controlled by the amount of washing. if washing is continued untilthe acid is (calculated as oleic), the oil is then suitable for use as alubricant.

We declare that what we claim is:

1. The process of manufacturing lubricating oils which consists inrefining crude hydrocarbon oils by acid treatment to remove undesirableimpurities but to leave after washing out mineral acid a finished oilcontaining a material amount of organic acid, namel less than two percent, but enough to r uce the frictional coefiicient of said oil b asubstantial amount.

2. he process of manufacturing lubricatmg oils which consists inrefining crude hy- May, 1921, in thepresence of two subscribing 10drocarbon oils by acid treatment to remove witnesses. undesirableimpurities but to leave in small JAMES EDWARD SOUTHCOMBE. quantities oforganic acids, and then blend- HENRY MATTHEW-WELLS.

6 in said oil with other oil'to reduce the free \Vit as t sin-nature MJames Edacldity so that the final product contains 1S l b b i less thantwo per cent of organic acid.

In witness whereof we have hereunto II. J. GREGORY, signed our namesthis 11th and 13th days of JAMEs C. MORAI'}.

